A new study out today finds that children in Indianapolis are learning less and at slower rates than peers statewide, but that students in Indy's charter schools are keeping pace.

The findings lend support to Indianapolis Public Schools' controversial turnaround strategy of partnering with charter schools to restart some of the city's lowest-performing traditional schools.

The study is the first outside evaluation of the Innovation Network, the partnership between IPS and charter schools. Over the past several years, the district has added 20 schools to the network – many by restarting low-performing schools under the auspices of a charter school partner.

Researchers reviewed student performance on ISTEP and end-of-course exams from 2015 to 2017.

They found that students at charter schools and schools within the IPS Innovation Network were making academic gains at a similar rate to children across the state, while students in traditional schools within IPS were growing more slowly.

The findings could embolden those who support the Innovation Network and want to see it grow.

"The purpose of the study is to provide rigorous evidence for stakeholders to make informed evaluations," said Chunping Han, a senior researcher at CREDO. The center is conducting similar studies in nine other cities, with results expected later this year.

The idea was championed by former Superintendent Lewis Ferebee, who left the district for DC Public Schools this month. His departure raises questions about the initiative, which made IPS a darling of the national education reform movement.

In his wake, the IPS school board has chosen Aleesia Johnson to serve as interim superintendent and she'll be a contender for the permanent post. Johnson was deputy superintendent for academics prior to Ferebee's departure but was brought to the district in 2015 to lead the development of the Innovation Network.

Her selection is a clear sign that the board remains committed to the Innovation Network. There has been some turnover on the board since that decision, but the majority is expected to remain in favor of the work.

In a statement from IPS released on Thursday, the district said it was excited about the study results.

“The 2019 CREDO study confirms the exciting developments we’re seeing unfold in the classrooms of our innovation schools," it said. "The positive academic outcomes are proof the strategies implemented by our talented school leaders are working. Likewise, we’re encouraged by strides we’re also seeing in our traditional schools as those outstanding leaders utilize increased autonomy to improve their growth.”

The study found that in 2017, students in charter schools gained 73 more days of learning in English and 97 more days of learning in math, compared to like peers in traditional public schools within the district.

Advocates of IPS's reform efforts say the results offer convincing evidence that the strategy of putting strong leaders into struggling schools, giving them autonomy and holding them accountable for their results is working.

“We think it’s irrefutable,” said Brandon Brown, CEO of The Mind Trust, a nonprofit education reform group based in the city. The Mind Trust has supported the development of many of the schools within the Innovation Network and helped the Stanford researchers identify the schools included in the study.

It's important to note that the study findings are based on averages. There are traditional schools, charter schools and innovation schools in which students are growing faster than the state average and some in each sector where students are growing more slowly.

Some criticize the Innovation Network for eroding the teachers union because teachers in Innovation Network schools are excluded from the collective bargaining unit. Critics also express concerns about implementing untested education models in schools with high percentages of low-income students and students of color. They also cite a lack of community oversight because charter schools have their own boards.

Two new members of the school board called for a pause on the conversion of traditional IPS schools to Innovation Network schools during the November election campaign.

A group of parents and citizens has also formed to oppose some of the district's reform strategies. The IPS Community Coalition has raised concerns about interest groups, such as The Mind Trust, having outsized influence on district decisions.

The group's executive direction, Charity Scott, said the results are important to consider but questions if the rapid pace of change within the district isn't behind the poor performance at IPS' traditional schools. Scott said traditional schools have historically been under-resourced, leading to poor performance and then restart. Had they been adequately provided for from the beginning, she said, they may not have needed to be restarted under the Innovation Network.